PopCap's Bookworm Heroes launched on the App Store last week, and following the game's success on Facebook and the previous entries' widespread popularity, fans of word games were particularly excited to pop in and start flinging word attacks on iOS devices. However, as we discovered in our review — which posted yesterday – the game's free-to-play model proved a bit severe, and made it difficult to simply play the game without feeling obligated to spend money. Acknowledging the feedback and criticisms, along with the first week's worth of player data, PopCap reached out to let us know that going forward, players will no longer need to spend in-game currency to "rent" a hero character. One will be available free each week in a rotating fashion, with Lex currently useable without charge.

In a marketplace chock full of free-to-play word games, Bookworm Heroes plays like a clear attempt to take back the mantle. PopCap didn’t invent casual word puzzles, but its Bookworm franchise certainly had a hand in its popularity. This asynchronous multiplayer entry boasts spritely animations and well-balanced word fighting mechanics, and serves as a nicely modernized successor to the franchise's name.